Also in the news / Year of stories 2022, debunking fishing myths, Grieg sale completed, business survey
SHETLAND Museum and Archives will be showcasing many of the isles’ untold stories next year as part of Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022.
Stories of two central themes – overcoming hardship and very superstitious – will be incorporated into a series of events throughout the year.
The museum’s lifelong learning officer Yvonne Reynolds said by bringing traditional themes and tales alive the museum aims to reinvigorate this element of Shetland’s culture for a younger generation.
Stories will be developed as a permanent resource through a series of podcasts, short videos, gallery talks and workshops which will take place throughout 2022.
In addition, a major new annual writing competition will also be launched to commemorate and celebrate the life of colleague and renowned local storyteller Davy Cooper.
SHETLAND Fishermen’s Association (SFA) has published the first of a series of papers in an attempt to debunk myths and misleading claims made about the industry.
The first paper of the Fishy Falsehoods papers deals with the claim made in the national media that fishing releases more CO2 than aviation.
The four page document can be found here.
GRIEG Seafood Shetland has confirmed that the sale of the company to Scottish Sea Farms has now been completed.
The £164 million deal, which makes Scottish Sea Farm by far the largest local salmon producer, was cleared by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority last week.
Grieg Seafood ASA chief executive Andreas Kvame said he wanted to thank all employees for their efforts in turning around the company, and the local communities in Shetland for their support over many years.
“Going forward, Grieg Seafood will narrow our focus, resources and investments to Norway and Canada to strengthen our presence in these production regions,” he added.
“As such, is it only right to let others, who have Shetland high on their agenda, develop the Shetland operations further.”
THE EMERGENCE of the Omicron variant of Covid and subsequent changes in public health guidance is a setback of some key sectors of the region’s economy, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has said.
The development agency has published the results of its latest business panel survey which was undertaken before Omicron.
Against this backdrop, more than four out of five businesses (82 per cent) said they were optimistic about their prospects over the coming 12 months and 45 per cent said they were striving for growth.
Nearly two thirds (64 per cent) said they were confident in Scotland’s economic outlook while two thirds said they were operating at their pre-pandemic level (four per cent) or above (22 per cent).
Labour shortages persist for 57 per cent of businesses, rising to 68 per cent for those in the tourism sector.
HIE’s director of strategy and regional economy Martin Johnson said: “We are very aware of the additional concern around those most impacted by the pandemic, such as tourism, food and drink and creative industries. The emergence of the new Omicron variant will also likely lead to increased challenges in some key sectors.”
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